Summarizing 'Lucy'

 Today's Learning Objectives  * Learn about the physical and social development of early humans through archaeological discoveries. * Provide a summary of the text distinct from person opinions or judgements.

Notetaking Guide: The Five W's and One H  Today you are going to begin to synthesize (combine) the information you have learned about ‘Lucy’ from the various sources we have studied, including our Social Studies textbook, the article “The ‘Lucy’ fossil rewrote the story of humanity,” 'The Becoming Human' website and the videos we’ve watched, especially the interview with Donald Johanson and the excerpt from “Walking with Cavemen.” Use the reporter’s 5 W’s and one H to organize your facts: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Ultimately, you will use these notes to write a summary. You can find the document Writing an Event Summary - 'Lucy' in your Social Studies Google Classroom.

More information about 'Lucy' and her discovery from our Social Studies textbook can be found below.

Writing a Summary Paragraph After you have gathered basic facts and information about 'Lucy' and her discovery, you are going to demonstrate what you’ve learned about the topic by writing a short summary (using the same Writing an Event Summary - 'Lucy' document). Your summary should include only the most relevant information, be composed of your own words and original sentences, and not include opinions or judgements. For a reminder on summary writing check we will watch a video about the topic from our friends at Flocabulary.

https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/summarizing/video/

FYI: The 'Five W's and One H' component of this project will count towards your grade as a classwork assignment. Meanwhile, the 'Summary' will count towards the assessment portion of your Social Studies grade. The Writing an Event Summary - 'Lucy' document will be due next Friday, September 2.

Don't forget that your Studying the Distant Past - Cognitive Content Dictionary is due and must be 'turned-in' tomorrow, August 26, in order to receive full credit.

Walking with 'Lucy'

 Today's Learning Objective  * Learn about the physical and social development of early humans through archaeological discoveries.

Archaeology in Action: Discovering 'Lucy' Read about archaeologist Donald Johanson's remarkable discovery of 'Lucy,' one of our earliest human ancestors, below, and then watch the video as Johanson himself explains the significance of this discovery.

Video: Walking with Cavemen  Today we are going to learn more about 'Lucy,' whose scientific name is australopithecus afarensis. As we watch the beginning of the series Walking with Cavemen, you will take notes about what you learn about this early hominid (human-like) species using the document Walking with Cavemen (Part 1) - Study Guide which you can find in your Social Studies Google Classroom. 

Becoming Human - An Interactive Documentary Experience  If time permits you may spend more time learning about the origins of humankind by exploring the amazing website 'Becoming Human.' Click the link here and join fossil hunter and the discoverer of 'Lucy,' Donald Johanson, as he guides you through four millions years of human evolution.

Studying the Distant Past (Day 2)

Video: What is Archaeology?  To begin today let's learn more about the job of an archaeologist by watching the short video below.  

Studying the Distant Past: Vocabulary Study  Now let's continue learning some of the key vocabulary and concepts related to archaeology and the study of the distant past by using our Studying the Distant Past - Cognitive Content Dictionary, which can still be located in your Social Studies Google Classroom. 

Guided Reading: Studying the Distant Past  Next, we are going to read excerpts from your text book related to how archaeologists study the origins of humankind. As we read together and in small groups, I would like you to recognize the text features that the textbook utilizes to organize information and help you find what you need. Notice, for example, how the textbook uses boldface blue type to point out new words, as well as larger type to show titles. Additionally, special information appears alongside the main text.  

Homework  Remember to complete and 'turn in' your Studying the Distant Past - Cognitive Content Dictionary by this Friday, August 26 in order to receive full credit. 

Studying the Distant Past

Group Discussion: How do we know what happened in the distant past?  The time before written records is called prehistory. If no one wrote things down long ago, how do we know what happened in the distant past? What sort of things might historians and scientists examine in order to understand what happened in ancient history?  Discuss your ideas with the members of your group and be prepared to share with the class.  

Is there anything that fictional archaeologist Indiana Jones can teach us about how we study and understand the distant past? 

Studying the Distant Past: Vocabulary Study  Today we are going to learn some of the key vocabulary and concepts related to the study of the distant past by using a vocabulary study guide called a Cognitive Content Dictionary (CCD). You can find your Studying the Distant Past - Cognitive Content Dictionary and a reading selection related to our topic of study (which corresponds to pgs. 6 - 11 of your Ancient Civilizations textbook) in your Social Studies Google Classroom. 

Using your CCD you will think about what you already know about the word, include a definition and image, and finally use the word in a sentence.

Homework  Complete and 'turn in' your Studying the Distant Past - Cognitive Content Dictionary by this Friday, August 26 in order to receive full credit. 

The Past, Present, and the Future

"Know your past. It is the foundation for your present, and the path to your future." 
- Pulani Kanahele

Google Mapping Activity  Take a few minutes to put the finishing touches on our collaborative Google Map about the special places we visited during summer vacation. Then be prepared to take share out about your special place, while also learning about the travels of your classmates. 

Why Study History?  In our Social Studies course this year part of our focus will be on studying early human history and ancient civilizations. But why? Why should we care about happened thousands or even millions of years ago? Why does what happened in the past matter to us now? Why do we study history in general and why should we care? Turn to the members of your table group and have a discussion about why you think it is important to study and understand what happened in the distant past. Discuss why learning and appreciating history is worth our time. 

Next, let's watch the perspective of a history teacher in the video below about why he believes knowing history is important. 

Flocabulary: The Week in Rap  Not only is it important to understand the past, but it's also critical to make connections to what is happening right now. Many important news events took place this around the world this week. Let's review some of them with our friends at Flocabulary.

Mapping Our Summer Vacations

                    

Getting Started with Google Maps  Today we will continue to get to know each other, while becoming oriented with our Chomebooks and its various Google applications. In today's lesson you will learn about Google Maps and use a shared digital class map to locate and describe a special place from your summer vacation. Check out the tutorial video below, featuring yours truly, to get started.

Now it's your turn. Please visit your Social Studies Google Classroom and locate the link to your class's Google Map and to find out more about this project. 

Community Building

Back-To-School Scavenger Hunt  Let's continue to get to know each other. For each question on the Scavenger Hunt worksheet find someone in class who shares that attribute and have them sign the answer blank for that question, as well as provide additional information. Don't have the same person sign for each question. Avoid talking to people you already know. Be brave and meet new people! We are all in this together!